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There’s much yet to be learned about cancer development and progression.
For example, research has shown that trauma to the breast itself can cause cancer.
According to the authors:

Models of epithelial cell generation indicate that a causal link between physical
trauma and cancer is plausible. A latent interval between cancer onset and
presentation of under 5 years is also plausible. The most likely explanation of
the findings is that physical trauma can cause breast cancer.

And, as reported by Science News in 2011:

The slightest scratch can cause cancerous cells to crawl to the wound and form
tumors in mice, a new study finds. The work may explain why certain kinds of
cancers seem to cluster around burns, surgical scars and other injuries. 'This work
says that if you have a predisposition to getting cancer, wounding might enhance
the chance that it will develop,' says cell biologist Anthony Oro of Stanford
University School of Medicine.

This raises questions about the possibility of developing cancer in the remaining
or surrounding chest tissue following a radical surgery as double mastectomy.
Needle biopsies have also been fingered as sources of cancer that otherwise might
not have occurred.

Epigenetics—The Answer for Those Seeking Cancer Prevention

The paradigm-shattering research now referred to as epigenetics proves your
genetic code is not nearly as predeterministic as previously thought. You actually
have a tremendous amount of control over how your genetic traits are expressed.
As it turns out, your genes will express or suppress genetic data depending on the
environment in which it finds itself, meaning the presence or absence of
appropriate nutrients, toxins, and even your thoughts and feelings, which unleash
hormones and other chemicals in your body.

Dr. Susan Love, a breast cancer surgeon and president of the Dr. Susan Love
Research Foundation, commented on such research back in 2009, saying:

It’s exciting. What it means, if all this environmental stuff is right, is that we
should be able to reverse cancer without having to ill cells. This could open up
a whole new way of thinking about cancer that would be much less assaultive.

Physician Discovers What It’s Like to Be 'Sold' Preventive Mastectomy

An article by Dr. Daniela Drake titled "Why I’m Not Having a Preventive
Mastectomy29" presents the other side of the preventive mastectomy argument,
and highlights the problems of our current paradigm:

Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS)... increases my odds of developing
cancer from 12 percent to 30 percent. But still, my options, my doctor explained,
include immediate bilateral mastectomy... She tells me that my chances of
developing cancer are 80 percent and that if she were in my shoes she would
just have them both removed.' ...Her offhand manner suggests something deeply
unserious like a manicure...

Although I used to be a vociferous advocate for aggressive medical
interventions, my perspective changed radically when I began working as a
house-call physician. My patients are too debilitated to go to the doctor’s
office—and many were disabled by botched surgeries... I’m concerned about my
surgeon’s flippancy and I suggest alternatives: 'There’s growing data that this
is a lifestyle disease. You know the Women’s Health Initiative shows exercise
can greatly decrease risk.'

I don’t know. That may be true,' she shrugs. 'If we don’t do surgery, then
we’ll just do mammograms every six months.' When I object, saying that LCIS
doesn’t show up on mammogram, she responds, 'I know. It doesn’t make sense
to me either.' It becomes evident that we don’t know how to deal with my
condition. The medical system does not tolerate ambiguity well, so breast
amputation has become the answer...

Now I know why patients are so mad at us. This is supposed to be patient-
centered care. But it feels more like system-centered care: the medical
equivalent of a car wash. I’m told incomplete and inaccurate information to
shuttle me toward surgery; and I’m not being listened to. I came to discuss
nutrition, exercise and close follow-up. I’m told to get my breasts removed
the sooner the better.

Mastectomy may be appropriate in some cases, like in those where
your risk of cancer is virtually 100 percent. But the risk of surgery operative
complications, infections, device and graft complications remains significant.
It’s callous and irresponsible to elide the risks to the public.

The Case Against BRCA Testing

In the research paper titled "The Case Against BRCA1 and 2 Testing",
published in the journal Surgery30 in June 2011, the four authors from the
Department of Surgery, University of California explain what many
oncologists don’t want to hear:

It turns out that, like a book, a gene can be 'read' both backward and
forward. Small sections (or chapters) within a big gene can be 'read' alone.
The three-dimensional structure of DNA controlled by site-to-site
methylation prevents many chapters from being read at all. In addition,
short segments of RNA (22 base pair micro-RNA) can cycle back to control
DNA transcription.

So, DNA is just the starting point, and like flour, you do not know whether
the chef is going to cook a croissant or a tortilla with it... Are BRCA 1 and
BRCA 2 unique? Or just like other genes, is their expression controlled by
the inner cellular attitudes (both epigenetic and environmental) of the
individual patient?

BRCA 1 and 2 code nuclear proteins, also known as tumor suppressor
genes, capable of repairing damaged DNA... Both mutations increase the
lifetime risk of breast cancer in a woman. Less than 5% of women diagnosed
with either ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive ductal cancer are a result of
inherited BRCA genes...

But BRCA 1 and 2 may speak with many voices. Polymorphisms are
naturally occurring single nucleotide variations of a gene present in more
than 1% of the population. Polymorphisms and other single-nucleotide
variants have been identified within the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes. Indeed,
more than 500 mutations in BRCA 1 alone have been documented and most
render their proteins inactive so, some BRCA genes seem to be shooting blanks.
And a single nucleotide polymorphism, albeit only a single nucleotide change,
can have a formidable influence on protein expression.

Sequence variant S1613G, for instance, results in increased mutational
risk of BRCA 1 neoplastic expression, whereas a variation in K1183R is related
inversely to cancer risk. It seems that some polymorphisms may actually have a
protective effect.

In summary, the authors state that for screening and therapeutic purposes,
BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genetic testing is really little more than an expensive
way of determining what can be accomplished more expeditiously by speaking
with your patient, since:

The DNA base pair sequence in all humans is 99.6% identical Epigenetic
factors influence substantively the RNA processing and translational requisition
of the initial DNA message There are thousands of sequence variants of the
BRCA1 and BRCA 2 genes

So in summary, it’s important to realize that even though many well-intentioned
physicians and media will seek to convince you of the value of cancer screening, it
does NOT in any way equate to cancer prevention. Although early detection is
important, recently a number of very popular screening methods have been shown
to cause more harm than good.

In terms of genetic testing, ask yourself what you would do with the information,
should it turn out you’re a carrier of the breast cancer gene. Ideally, such a test
result would spur you to take real prevention seriously. But even if you don’t have
the mutation, lifestyle factors are still a much larger risk factor overall. Remember,
the percentage of diagnosed breast cancer cases that have the mutated gene is in
the low single digits. Something else, primarily your lifestyle, accounts forthe
remainder.

In the largest review of research into lifestyle and breast cancer, the American
Institute of Cancer Research estimated that about 40 percent of U.S. breast cancer
cases could be prevented if people made wiser lifestyle choices.31, 32 I believe
these estimates are far too low, and it is more likely that 75 percent to 90 percent
of breast cancers could be avoided by strictly applying the ecommendations
below.

Avoid sugar, especially fructose. All forms of sugar are detrimental to health
in general and promote cancer. Fructose, however, is clearly one of the most
harmful and should be avoided as much as possible.

Optimize your vitamin D. Vitamin D influences virtually every cell in your
body and is one of nature's most potent cancer fighters. Vitamin D is actually
able to enter cancer cells and trigger apoptosis (cell death). If you have cancer,
your vitamin D level should be between 70 and 100 ng/ml. Vitamin D works
synergistically with every cancer treatment I'm aware of, with no adverse effects.
I suggest you try watching my one-hour free lecture on vitamin D to learn more.

Remember that if you take high doses of oral vitamin D3 supplements, you
also need to increase your vitamin K2 intake, as vitamin D increases the need
for K2 to function properly. See my previous article What You Need to Know
About Vitamin K2, D and Calcium for more information.

Please consider joining one of Grassroots Health’s D*Action’s vitamin D
studies to stay on top of your vitamin D performance. For more information, see
my previous article How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help You Optimize
Your Health.

Get plenty of natural vitamin A. There is evidence that vitamin A also plays
a role in helping prevent breast cancer.33 It's best to obtain it from vitamin A-rich
foods, rather than a supplement. Your best sources are organic egg yolks,34 raw
butter, raw whole milk, and beef or chicken liver.

Lymphatic breast massage can help enhance your body’s natural ability to
eliminate cancerous toxins. This can be applied by a licensed therapist, or you
can implement self-lymphatic massage. It also promotes self-nurturance.

Avoid charring your meats. Charcoal or flame broiled meat is linked with
increased breast cancer risk. Acrylamide a carcinogen created when starchy foods
are baked, roasted or fried has been found to increase breast cancer risk as well.

Avoid unfermented soy products. Unfermented soy is high in plant estrogen's,
or phytoestrogens, also known as isoflavones.

In some studies, soy appears to work in concert with human estrogen to increase
breast cell proliferation, which increases the chances for mutations and cancerous
cells.

Improve your insulin receptor sensitivity. The best way to do this is by avoiding
sugar and grains and making sure you are exercising, especially with Peak Fitness.

Maintain a healthy body weight. This will come naturally when you begin eating
right for your nutritional type and exercising. It's important to lose excess body fat
because fat produces estrogen.

Get plenty of high-quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil. Omega-3
deficiency is a common underlying factor for cancer.

Curcumin. This is the active ingredient in turmeric and in high concentrations
can be very useful adjunct in the treatment of breast cancer. It shows immense
therapeutic potential in preventing breast cancer metastasis.35 It's important to
know that curcumin is generally not absorbed that well, so I've provided several
absorption tips here.

Avoid drinking alcohol, or at least limit your alcoholic drinks to one per day.

Breastfeed exclusively for up to six months. Research shows breastfeeding can
reduce your breast cancer risk.

Avoid wearing underwire bras. There is a good deal of data that metal underwire
bras can heighten your breast cancer risk.

Avoid electromagnetic fields as much as possible. Even electric blankets can
increase your cancer risk.

Avoid synthetic hormone replacement therapy. Breast cancer is an estrogen-related
cancer, and according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute, breast cancer rates for women dropped in tandem with decreased use of
hormone replacement therapy. (There are similar risks for younger women who use
oral contraceptives. Birth control pills, which also comprised of synthetic
hormones, have been linked to cervical and breast cancers.)

If you are experiencing excessive menopausal symptoms, you may want to
consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy instead, which uses hormones
that are molecularly identical to the ones your body produces and do not wreak
havoc on your system. This is a much safer alternative.

Avoid BPA, phthalates and other xenoestrogens. These are estrogen-like
compounds that have been linked to increased breast cancer risk

Dr. David Brownstein, 36 author of the book Iodine: Why You Need It, Why
You Can't Live Without It, is a proponent of iodine for breast cancer. It actually
has potent anticancer properties and has been shown to cause cell death in breast
and thyroid cancer cells.

For more information, I recommend reading Dr. Brownstein's book. I have been
researching iodine for some time ever since I interviewed Dr. Brownstein as I do
believe that the bulk of what he states is spot on. However, I am not at all convinced
that his dosage recommendations are correct. I believe they are too high.

About Me

Hi Folks, My name is Larry Nelson. I'm 67 years old, I live in central
Texas and I'm enjoying my retirement.
In May of 2007 I was diagnosed with cancer in my prostate. I wasn't
real surprised because my mother died from the 3rd battle with cancer.
I was told that, on a scale of 1 to 9, I was rated 7. They said that I
had a very short time to live unless I have my prostate removed and
follow up with Kemo-Therapy.
I tried to explain to the uroligist that I had been studying cancer
treatment on the internet and that I had decidedto go the alterative
route. I had to repeat myself 3 times to get the doctor to acknowledge
my comment. He told me that it wouldn't work.
It is now February of 2012, I don't have cancer problems that I know of.
I have lost friends to the medical treatment of cancer and I had decided
that I wasn't going to go through the HELL that they did before they died.
What I want to accomplish with this blog is...I want to let as many people
know as I can that there is a much better way to deal with cancer. There
is many people like me that have beat cancer with the alternative approach
to beating cancer.